Vivi's Burden
by Majo.Hikari
Summary: Keeper Hikari has died after a failed experiment gone wrong. Vivi feels unbearable grief and shame for his role. This is the morning after Hikari's experiment and Vivi is just trying to get through the day as he shoulders his burden.


**Based on:** Final Fantasy Record Keeper

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy, Record Keeper, or any of the characters within it.

 **Note:** This story was originally based on a RP with friends on Facebook. This is a one-shot sequel to Records of Keeper Hikari. You can read this without having read that, but I promise you won't understand what's going on. This will be leading immediately into the new project SuzuriHeinze and I are currently working on. Go check out "The Secret Garden" on her profile.

 **Warnings:** Lots and lots of angst and guilt. Potential OOC.

Vivi tossed and turned in his sleep. He saw nothing but blackness, but suddenly a pink electrical inferno charged towards him. For a moment, he could have sworn he saw Hikari's face in the flames. Screaming, screaming… Pouding in his ears, pounding, pounding.

He woke with a start and bolted right up in his twin bed. He looked around and realized he was safe in his dormitory. He gave a sigh of relief. And then he remembered. Hikari was gone and it was his fault. His big sister, his best friend. The one silver lining in all of this was that no one got seriously hurt from the blast. He and Auron were sore, but a simple Cura spell and orders for a good night sleep from Minwu did the trick.

He hopped out of bed and slipped on his mage's coat and steeple hat. He adjusted the hat's brim as he looked in the mirror. Even though the incident occurred just the night before, it still felt surreal to Vivi. He wondered why Hikari burst into flames so violently but decided it was better to dwell on it as little as possible. He balled up his hands into fists to rest on his hips and he puffed up his chest. It was his "Superhero" pose that Hikari had taught him to take whenever he felt scared or not so confident. He sure could use some confidence right now.

 _Well_ , he figured, _better to just get it over with now rather than dwell on it._ He walked out of his dorm, locked the door, and replaced the key back into his coat pocket. He made his way to the cafeteria for breakfast slowly. Along the way, several students stopped him to give their condolences. Vivi nodded and told them thank you, reminding himself that they were just being kind and he should appreciate it. But the way they looked at him made him feel like he was a monster in shackles on display.

When he arrived at the cafeteria, he piled scrambled eggs onto his tray and grabbed a banana. Before he had a chance to find a place to sit, he heard his name being called.

"Vivi!" He looked over to see Garnet waving him over to her table. He sighed and supposed it would be rude to ignore her. He walked over to her and sat across from her and Aerith.

"We heard about Hikari. Oh, Vivi, I'm so sorry," Aerith said in her sweet motherly voice. Garnet nodded.

"If you need us, we're here for you," Garnet added in. Vivi started pushing his eggs around with his fork.

"Thanks, guys. Right now I just want things to feel normal," he replied with a bite.

* * *

 _What would Hikari do next if she were here and… happy?_ Vivi wondered. _The Relic Draw. Hikari would run straight off after breakfast._ The young black mage walked down the hall towards the large area used for relic promotions.

Once there, he started fishing out his mythril bag to count how many he currently possessed, but stopped suddenly when he saw a certain promotional poster.

" _Wing Edge. Available for a limited time only! 10 Mythril for a guarantee to help you get the edge on your foes!"_

Vivi couldn't help but laugh. Hikari had always wanted to win that weapon in a Draw to surprise Locke with. And now there was a promotion guaranteeing you the Wing Edge if you spent five more mythril than the normal price? The Universe truly seemed to be laughing at him right now. _Why not?_ he shrugged to himself. He tossed the Mythril into the magical urn and did have to attempt the bright fireworks were exciting. The Wing Edge landed softly in his out stretched hands.

"Hello, Vivi." He jumped, startled, nearly dropping his new weapon. When he turned around, he saw Leviathan staring down at him kindly… but not in a pitiful way like everyone else.

"Y-yes, hello, Professor Leviathan. How can I help you?" He had to crane his head up since he was so short and Leviathan so tall.

"Oh, no, you see, I need your help. Hikari needs your help."

"W-what? Professor, that's not funny. She died last night," he moped.

"Ah, well you see, she is alive and well. Her experiment succeeded. She has become One with what she will one day refer to as the Speed Force," Leviathan said, smiling.

"It worked?" Vivi gaped. "She lived?!"

"Indeed. Would you come with me? The others would like to see you as well."

"The others, sir?"

"You'll see," Leviathan gave a small chuckle as he touched Vivi's shoulder and transported them to a room he'd never been to before.

"Vivi!" A handful of voices called his name. He knew those voices. He turned around and saw Locke, Tidus, and Yuna standing there. He couldn't help but start crying as he started running towards them.


End file.
